Fire!!!

Tuesday, January 12, 2010
January 5, 2010 1:10 pm - Fire! This was something that wasn't really new for the people. The real score about what caused the fire or whether it was intentionally done or not still remains a mystery up to now. Now, it's time to wave goodbye to our old Ultra Vision Cinema.

Despite the bitter fate, I am a bit happy and at the same time hopeful that the building will be transformed into a better one. A building that can house something contrary to what it used to be - an old, jurassic and substandard cinema. There's no way I could forget my previous dates with the rats and cockroaches specially bred inside the cinema. Nor will I forget watching a horror movie with the main characters' voices transformed into those of chipmunks'. It was just oh so horrible and disappointing!

Anyway, here are a few videos I took when the incident happened. Shall I say sit back, relax and enjoy the show? Kidding aside!



Dumaguete's Pride - Noreco (?)

Monday, January 11, 2010
Everything was fine, I was pretty much busy with my daily habit - surfing the net. My bandwidth speed was acceptable, the environment was better and cooler than usual and everything else were virtually perfect until darkness swallowed the entire world (as far as my sight was concerned though). Poof! NORECO strikes again with its very promising "ASSet" and trademark - frequent blackouts.

The last time I heard about Dumaguete being a city was just yesterday and as far as I can remember, cities, big or small, are supposed to be ahead in terms of economic and industrial aspects compared to those that are not. This leads me to entertaining the thought of Dumaguete being among the few cities, if not the capital, atop the list in terms of blackouts. Whether the "urban" impression and implication of being a city is widely felt or not, nothing changes the fact that Dumaguete is still Jurassic considering the Electric Cooperative that the place has.

Correct me if I'm wrong about this but isn't the local government capable of taking serious action about this century-old issue (or even older)? Can't they limit the number of announced and unannounced power service interruptions and punish NORECO whenever they fail to abide it? Take a look at other cities in the country. They don't have scheduled power service interruptions during weekends (or at least not as much) nor do they experience frequent abrupt power failures.

If there's one word to describe NORECO, it would be lousy. Needless to say, it's a given that we'll share a lot of sentiments in common. If you have noticed, they've been scheduling service interruptions for almost every week. If you're thinking that they're doing major transformations in their facilities, I'd have to advise you to stop making such high hopes. Most of the time, they just do cutting. Yes, you read that just right. They cut tree branches that are near their electric wires. If not, they might be replacing their wooden posts or probably just rewiring. Talking about innovation! Nothing's new, nothing's fresh. It's still the same old crappy NORECO that we'll have to face for the entire year and for the upcoming years.

How long should we bear with this discomfort? How long should we risk our appliances' safety? How long should businesses in the city patiently hang on to their generators in times of service interruptions? This is way too much and is hardly bearable! We need a real Electric Cooperative that is modern enough to give us the service that we deserve. I'm sick of hearing NORECO putting the blame on the former PNOC. They forgot to somehow point the blaming finger at themselves.

Silliman Might Soon be Silliman Then...

Friday, January 8, 2010
It is but a cliché when I hear of the naked truth that learning isn't simply confined in the four walls of a classroom and yet it is ironic how some people, still, do not get the whole point of it. It's sad to learn that this is happening in the campus by the sea, Silliman University, with credits to its bigwigs.

Psychology, the science (and/or study) of human behavior, strongly established in me that theory added with theory per se is an experience that's half-baked. Because of this, I feel bad that Silliman University ridiculously failed in this aspect. For two years now, a moratorium on field trips existed, suspending academic field exposures outside the province. Unfortunately, that doesn't exclude any subject at all. According to the moratorium, today's economic problem in the country and in almost every country aside is the main culprit. What can be a more lame and disgusting reason for this? I can't seem to think of any. The real score is plain and simple! For decades now, the Philippines has been experiencing the "financial or economic constraint" that they were referring to FOR CRYING OUT LOUD!!! This is definitely not just a recent issue because the moment the world economic crisis occurred, the Philippines was in its already terrible shape - probably the reason why there's little to no effect to the majority at all.

An exposure trip, for instance, has just been denied by our "beloved" Vice President for Academic Affairs (VPAA) and her colleagues (or clerks perhaps?). The trip's aim is to expose students to the actual fields or the real world out there especially that the students will get to decide for themselves on what path to take later on. These are places that we will find nowhere in this small city of Dumaguete. Without the exposure, the students will just depend on what theory feeds them without really getting a taste of how it is really like in the real setting. It's just like learning the essentials of swimming without getting a single dip at the pool.

It's just sad that the quality of education is compromised because of the so-called "financial issues." What's more insulting is the fact that the field trip that the VPAA just denied permission was not even compulsory but instead was just highly recommended. If the parents of the students are capable of spending for the field trip, I don't see any good reason to deprive the students the privilege that the students in Manila are endowed with. Yes, it's also an issue of competitiveness that, apparently, the university falls short of when it comes to the aspect of real and quality exposure which is vital in the learning process. While it may be true that some components of the university have gained recognition for their superb and/or outstanding performance, it is equally important that other programs be enhanced for a higher chance of being among the cream of the crop as well.

Silliman University is still the same old Silliman, I believe, but I'm afraid that if this "austerity measure" continues, the quality of education might go down, even way below the acceptable level and the school will just end up looking back at what it was back then. Education is an investment not a cost.